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Plastic Army Women Project: Little Big Shots on NBC this Sunday
almost 4 years ago – Sun, May 24, 2020 at 04:41:54 PM

After months of being sworn to secrecy, I can finally announce that Little Big Shots with Melissa McCarthy invited 7 year old Vivian Lord and her family out to California to be  part of the program. Vivian's letter brought the Plastic Army Women project to the media's  attention last summer and really helped get the project moving forward.  I'm not supposed to reveal any spoilers, but I have mentioned that some  of the resin prototypes were deployed to California earlier this year  for a secret mission, so maybe we'll get to see them a little? The show will air on NBC this Sunday evening at 7pm  Eastern (March 24th, 2020). 

To give a quick update on the  project, all the all the resin prototypes have been delivered to the  plastic injection mold maker. Getting to the tool making phase of this process is a major milestone for the project. Minor refinements are being made to make  sure the bases are all the right size and that the finished plastic  figures will come out of the steel molds smoothly. It takes a couple of  months for the plastic injection molds to be made, then the molds will  be tested, refined, and tested again until the they're ready to ship to  the factory in Pennsylvania for production of the finished plastic figures. Another refinement that will be made by the tool maker is the Prone Sharpshooter is getting her bipod back.  The bipod had to be removed from the original sculpt for casting the  resin prototypes, but we should be able to restore it for the plastic  version. Here's a quick mockup from the tool maker:

Another detail we're working on is the  Military Working Dog leash. I made a prototype out of some wire and we're going to try to have it molded with the dog so it doesn't get lost in production  but is easily detached for play:

Here's the group photo from the last update with the color digitally evened out and adjusted. I think they are looking pretty epic:

Have a safe and thoughtful Memorial Day,

Jeff at BMC Toys

Plastic Army Women Project: ALL TOGETHER NOW
almost 4 years ago – Sat, May 02, 2020 at 11:44:33 PM

The first complete sets of Plastic Army Women resin prototypes arrived yesterday so I was very excited to set up all 18 pieces together for the first time:

It's really gratifying to see all the troops together and one step closer to the final product. The next step is to send them to the tool maker so they can be transformed into steel plastic injection molds. There's still plenty of little details to work out, but this represents a major milestone in the project. 

Eagle-eyed supporters might have already noticed something new in the set. I was able to sneak in a last minute variant of the Corpsman figure. The body is the same, but the 2nd Corpsman now has a different face, hair and field cap instead of a helmet:

Schedule-wise, we're about a month behind where I would like to be, but is still on track for October release. I'm way behind schedule on opening up the Backerkit site where you'll finalize your reward details. The good news is that it won't change when you receive your rewards. The Backerkit launch date depends upon when I get a few more details finalized, but I'll be trying for the end of May.

Stay well, 

Jeff at BMC Toys

Plastic Army Women Project: COVID-19 SPRING
about 4 years ago – Sat, Apr 18, 2020 at 12:28:09 AM

Here's the latest update on the BMC Toys Plastic Army Women project:

Some backers have asked how we're all doing during the COVID-19 crisis. So far, we're all doing OK (thanks for askin'). I work from a home office, and so do many of the folks I work with, so the social distancing hasn't been a big issue. One of the factories I work with has reopened after a shutdown, while another is currently shut down. The local factory that will be producing the Plastic Army Women is currently operating with limited staff making essential items. I've let everyone I work with know that I'll support whatever decisions they make to keep their families and staff (and their families) safe. 

The COVID-19 crisis has not impacted the Plastic Army Women project too much, and I've taken several measures to ensure BMC Toys can survive the emergency. I changed my workflow with the sculptor to minimize shipping the original sculpts. We didn't want to risk the original sculpts getting stranded if there was an unexpected package service interruption during this crisis.  Instead of shipping the sculpts to me for review and photograph, we arranged for better photos to be taken on site and that slowed things down by a few days. The tooling phase of the project should start within the next couple of weeks and so far I don't foresee a delay due to COVID-19. The production phase won't start until later in the summer, so it's too early to predict if there will be any issues yet. It couldn't be a more appropriate time for medical heroes so here's the finished Nurse sculpt and nearly finished Corpsman Sculpt (she's been finished since the photo) carrying the stretcher:

All the sculpts are finalized and the resin molds have been made. The next milestone is getting all the resin master models finished so they can be made into the steel plastic injection mold. The project is behind schedule a bit, but I expected delays like this and built in extra time so the fall release is still on track (knock on wood). Here's the finished Military Working Dog & Handler sculpts:

The sculptor has a LOT of resin prototypes to make. Resin figures are needed for the tool making part of the project, for backers who pledged resin prototype rewards, and some are even going into museum collections. A few of the resin prototypes were sent to Hollywood in January for filming of a TV show. They're in the process of final production and wanted to take more close-up shots so the available troops shipped out to the West coast again last week. I'm waiting for the producer to let me know when I can announce the name of the show and when it will air. Here's what the resin figures look like when they come out of the mold. She still needs a lot hand trimming and polishing before to be finished:

The other aspect of the project that has been delayed is the opening of the Backerkit shop where you'll finalize all the details about your rewards. I apologize for the delay, but there are still some details to finalize that won't be ready until I get a full set of the resin models. This will not delay when you receive your rewards and I appreciate everyone's patience.  One of the minor details to finalize is the final production details (like colors) for the plastic Rosie the Riveter figure. Here's the finished sculpt:

Every backer who pledged $25 and more will receive a plastic Rosie figure in the Kickstarter exclusive Copper color. I'm considering a couple different color assortments for the final product that will be available for backers to add-on at a discount from the pre-order and retail price.  I may also make individual Rosie figures available to backers, but am still working out if that will be feasible. I'll post an update with some digital color tests to see what folks think within the next couple of weeks.

I know it's a tough time for everyone, but try to stay healthy and sane as best you can.

Thanks for all your support,

Jeff at BMC Toys

Plastic Army Women Project: MARCH!
about 4 years ago – Mon, Mar 02, 2020 at 01:00:52 AM

Here's the latest on the Plastic Army Women project. All the figures have been sculpted (including the stretch goal figures) and we're going through the final stages of refinement. The extra figures added more time to the process but we're still on track for October release date of the final product.  Here's a look at the in-progress sculpts of the Nurse, Military Working Dog and Handler, and Rosie on her new 'We Can Do It!' pedestal:

I'm considering adding an 'MP' to MWD Handler's Helmet and also thinking about if the leash should be a plastic or string. My concern with the plastic leash is it would be easily lost and would be tough to make extras as replacements. 

I think the 'We Can Do It!' base turned out really nice, although the rivet gun will likely need to be moved for molding and manufacturing purposes.  I'm also considering how the Rosie figure will be offered as a final product, possibly a pack of 12 figures in a 3 color assortment. Red, Yellow  & Blue and/or Bronze, Pewter and Marble White. For Kickstarter backers she'll be available as individual figures as well as packs in whatever colors are produced (including the Kickstarter exclusive Copper color). I should have the sculpts on-hand to photograph and review in person soon and will mock-up some of the color ideas once I have better photos.

Speaking of what will be available to Kickstarter Backers, I had planned on opening up the Backerkit shop by now but have decided to delay it for about a month. The Backerkit shop is where you'll be able to finalize all your rewards and even add some extras if you like. I want to have as much of the product details finalized as possible, and the extra time will help me get everything just right. The Backerkit shop delay won't change when you receive your rewards or slow down the project development so I hope folks don't mind too much.

Speaking of Backerkit, a nice extra they offer is a separate Pre-Order shop. Kickstarter backers who want extras should wait for the Backerkit shop to open, but for folks who missed the Kickstarter I've opened the Pre-Order shop so they can reserve their Plastic Army Women Packs and Buckets now. I've also redirected PlasticArmyWomen.com to the Pre-Order Shop to make it easy to share:

Tanks' for your support,

Jeff at BMC Toys

Plastic Army Women Kickstarter Exclusive Color Vote Results:
about 4 years ago – Tue, Jan 28, 2020 at 09:27:05 PM

The votes are in, the results have been tallied, and the winner is: Copper!

Copper was also the winner for the Rosie the Riveter Plastic Figure Exclusive color:

Both items will be produced in the Metallic Copper color one time only, and will only be available to Kickstarter backers. The copper color variants will be available as an option for rewards of Plastic Army Women packs, and also as an add-on when you finalize your reward options.

There were 680 votes in our Ranked Choice style election.  Folks choose their 1st, 2nd and 3rd picks. The votes for all the 1st Choice picks are tallied, and if a candidate received over 50% of the vote they win. If no candidate wins the magic 50% number there is an instant runoff. The 1st Choice candidate with the lowest vote tally on the 1st round is eliminated and voters who chose the loser have their 2nd choice added to the tally. The process repeats until there is a winner. Here are the full results:

For something like this, a Ranked Choice vote is overly complicated, and in this case, didn't change the outcome. I did it this way to illustrate the process since it's a voting method that's been gaining in popularity and has some important advantages when voting for public officials. Basically, it makes it easier to vote for the candidate you like best rather than voting against the candidate you like least.

 I had planned on having the Backerkit store open by now (this is where backers will finalize their reward selections and options), but need some more time to get everything ready. The new timeline is to have the Backerkit store open by the end of February. This will not effect the production timeline for the Plastic Army Women, which are still on track for fall 2020 arrival. 

Here's eight of the figures that have progressed from the sculpture stage to the resin casting stage of the prototype process:

The artist is working hard to finish the rest of sculptures. It's a big project with all the extra figures, but it's getting close  to completion. 

Tanks' for your support,

Jeff at BMC Toys